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Does free Wi-Fi host any risks?

With free wifi available in public places, people can access social medias and news anywhere. I avail these services regularly. But, I am beginning to think that why would someone provide wifi for free? I also read that businesses give offer free wifi to see our search traffic. Is this real?
I read in one another blog about the potential risks of free wifi. http://nci.ca/potential-risks-free-wi-fi-minimize-risk/ . It was mentioned in the blog on using vpn service for secured internet. Since, I am a person who regularly surf the internet on free wifi, I would like to know the advantages of using the vpn to secure the internet. Pleease give your opinions on using vpn.

Free wifi tends to be insecure. I would use for general browsing at best and certainly never log in to any email or internet banking etc. As suggested the use of VPN should secure the connection.

Yes, you shouldn't use it if you would give away your information for anything basically, including passwords for social media, email, online banking. Nothing is for free. If you don't need to pay with money, often you pay with data and information instead.

i wouldn't access banking, legal, and other personal information over the free public wi-fi.
Social media like Facebook, & twitter should be fine if the network is @ somewhere like Starbucks or library.

When you say 'free', you mean without using a password? Many cafes and bars will offer free Wi-Fi, but commonly only when you ask for the password (or sometimes it is displayed on a board). Surely when the Wi-Fi is free but still with a password, it's fine? I think the danger comes at places like airports and train stations, where free Wi-Fi is offered but with no password. Hackers can create a fake network that seems so close to the real one, and use that as a way to gain access to information on your device. I've been reading about all these Wi-Fi dangers and it's pretty alarming and eye-opening. The ways hackers can trick us is astounding.